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This is an artist's impression of a rocky and water-rich asteroid being torn apart by the strong gravity of the white dwarf star GD 61. Image credit: Mark A. Garlick, Space-art.co.uk / University of Warwick / University of Cambridge.

Astronomers Discover Water-Rich Asteroid Debris Orbiting White Dwarf GD 61

Oct 11, 2013 by News Staff

British and German astronomers using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and telescopes of the W. M. Keck Observatory have detected the remains of an asteroid...

This is an artist's impression of the free-floating planet PSO J318.5-22. Image credit: MPIA / V. Ch. Quetz.

PSO J318.5-22: Free-Floating Exoplanet Found 80 Light-Years from Earth

Oct 10, 2013 by News Staff

Astronomers using the Pan-STARRS 1 wide-field survey telescope on Haleakala, Maui, have discovered a very young free-floating planet named PSO J318.5-22. This...

This image shows the Toby Jug Nebula. Image credit: ESO.

Astronomers Capture Stunning New Image of Toby Jug Nebula

Oct 9, 2013 by News Staff

An international group of astronomers using the Very Large Telescope has captured a detailed image of the reflection nebula IC 2220, also known as the...

This is an artist's impression of a protostar in G34.43+00.24 MM3. Image credit: NAOJ.

ALMA Sees Giant, Hot Cocoon around Protostar in Infrared Dark Cloud

Oct 8, 2013 by Sergio Prostak

An international team of astronomers has used the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in the Atacama Desert, northern Chile, to observe...

Fomalhaut: Actually Triple Star, Astronomers Say

Oct 4, 2013 by News Staff

In a new study accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journal (arXiv.org), astronomers show that a previously known red dwarf star called LP 876-10...

This image shows the galaxy Q1442-MD50, center, with incoming cold gas flow. A stream of primordial inflowing hydrogen is illuminated from behind by a distant background quasar, lower left, - quasar added by an artist. Image credit: MPIA / G. Stinson / A. V. Macciò.

Astronomers Discover Star-Forming Galaxy Fueled by Primordial Hydrogen

Oct 3, 2013 by News Staff

In a paper published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters (arXiv.org), astronomers from the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy and the University of California...

This artist's rendering shows the gas giant Kepler-7b, left, and Jupiter, right. The cloud map shows that clouds cover the western side of the gaseous planet, leaving the east cloud-free. Dr Demory and his colleagues speculate the clouds are made up of minerals containing silicates. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / MIT.

Kepler-7b: Astronomers Create Cloud Map of Jupiter-Like Exoplanet

Oct 1, 2013 by News Staff

Astronomers using data from two space telescopes have created the first cloud map of a hot gas giant called Kepler-7b. This artist’s rendering shows...

This image shows the Cat's Paw Nebula. Image credit: ArTeMiS team / Ph. André, M. Hennemann, V. Revéret et al / ESO / J. Emerson / VISTA. Acknowledgment: Cambridge Astronomical Survey Unit.

APEX Zooms in on Cat’s Paw Nebula

Sep 27, 2013 by News Staff

Astronomers using ArTeMiS, a new instrument installed on the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment – a 12-m diameter telescope in the Atacama Desert, have...

PSR J1824-2452I: Missing Link between Radio and X-Ray Pulsars

Sep 26, 2013 by News Staff

A team of astronomers led by Dr Alessandro Papitto from the Institute of Space Studies of Barcelona has discovered a fast-spinning pulsar that switches...

This new Hubble image shows the galaxy cluster Abell 1689. Image credit: NASA / ESA / the Hubble Heritage Team / STScI / AURA / J. Blakeslee / NRC Herzberg Astrophysics Program / Dominion Astrophysical Observatory / H. Ford / JHU.

Hubble Finds Largest Population of Globular Clusters in Abell 1689

Sep 25, 2013 by News Staff

New, deep observations of the massive galaxy cluster Abell 1689 have revealed that it hosts the largest population of globular clusters ever found. This...

This image shows Sagittarius A* and the surrounding region. Image credit: NASA / CXC / MIT / F. Baganoff / R. Shcherbakov et al.

Supermassive Black Hole at Milky Way’s Center Erupted Two Million Years Ago

Sep 25, 2013 by News Staff

Astronomers led by Prof Joss Bland-Hawthorn from the University of Sydney have found evidence that the supermassive black hole at the heart of our galaxy,...

This image shows the galaxy M60-UCD1. Image credit: NASA / STScI.

M60-UCD1: Densest Galaxy in Nearby Universe

Sep 24, 2013 by Sergio Prostak

Astronomers using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, Chandra X-ray Observatory and ground-based optical telescopes have discovered what they say is the...

This image shows the Prawn Nebula. Image credit: ESO. Acknowledgement: Martin Pugh.

VLT Telescope Reveals Beauty of Prawn Nebula

Sep 23, 2013 by News Staff

Astronomers have used ESO’s VLT Survey Telescope to produce a stunning new image of a large stellar nursery called the Prawn Nebula. This image shows...

This composite image shows enormous arms of plasma in the Coma galaxy cluster. Image credit: X-ray – NASA / CXC / MPE / J. Sanders et al.; optical - SDSS.

Chandra Reveals Long Arms of Plasma in Coma Galaxy Cluster

Sep 20, 2013 by News Staff

Astronomers using NASA’s Chandra space observatory have discovered enormous arms of X-ray emitting plasma in the Coma cluster of galaxies. This composite...

This image shows a jet of energetic particles emitting radio waves, shown in pink, coming from the star IRAS 15445-5449. Dusty material around the star, shown in green, was imaged with ESO's VLT Interferometer. The star itself is hidden by dust. Image credit: A. Pérez-Sánchez /ATCA / CSIRO / E. Lagadec / ESO.

Astronomers See Giant Star Turning into Planetary Nebula

Sep 17, 2013 by News Staff

According to a team of astronomers from Australia and Europe reporting in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, IRAS 15445-5449 – an...

This image shows the structure of the Milky Way, including the location of the spiral arms and other components such as the bulge (NASA / JPL-Caltech / ESO / R. Hurt).

Astronomers Create Map of Milky Way’s Central Bulge

Sep 13, 2013 by News Staff

Two international teams of astronomers have used ESO’s VISTA telescope and MPG/ESO 2.2-m telescope, both in Chile, to produce the best 3D map yet of...

This is an artist's impression of a free-floating Y-dwarf. The new study shows that these objects are warmer than previously thought, with temperatures about 250-350 degrees Fahrenheit (NASA / JPL-Caltech).

Y-Class Brown Dwarfs Warmer than Previously Thought, Say Astronomers

Sep 9, 2013 by Natali Anderson

Astronomers using data from NASA’s WISE mission and the Spitzer Space Telescope have found that ultra-cool Y-class brown dwarfs – the coldest...

This artist's impression shows how Gliese 1214b may look as it transits its parent star. Image credit: NAOJ.

Super-Earth Gliese 1214b Has Water-Rich Atmosphere, Japanese Astronomers Say

Sep 5, 2013 by Enrico de Lazaro

Astronomers from Japan using NAOJ’s Subaru Telescope have found that the extrasolar planet Gliese 1214b has a water-rich atmosphere. This artist’s...

This image shows the bipolar planetary nebula PN Hb 12, popularly known as Hubble 12, in the constellation of Cassiopeia. Image credit: NASA / ESA. Acknowledgement: Josh Barrington.

Hubble Zooms in on Bipolar Planetary Nebulae

Sep 5, 2013 by News Staff

Using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and ESO’s New Technology Telescope, two astronomers from University of Manchester, UK, have studied 130...